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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23495767">Softer The Nights</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/politelyparanormal/pseuds/politelyparanormal'>politelyparanormal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Castle By The Sea [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lord of the Rings - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, contemplating death, internal struggling, too many emotions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:00:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>963</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23495767</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/politelyparanormal/pseuds/politelyparanormal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>To still be alive is a curse, yet to lay with those you love underneath the stars is a blessing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aragorn | Estel/Frodo Baggins, Aragorn | Estel/Frodo Baggins/Legolas Greenleaf, Aragorn | Estel/Legolas Greenleaf, Frodo Baggins/Legolas Greenleaf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Castle By The Sea [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Softer The Nights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Again, I unfortunately don’t own the Lord of The Rings or these characters.</p><p>Please excuse any grammatical or spacing errors! Typing on an iPhone is a struggle. </p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Death was a cold word, a hard word with many unspoken threats and hidden meanings; shadows full of monsters and old, dug up nightmares. Yet death could be a soft word, a warm word with many quiet promises; frosty starlight and glittering pools across rippling fields full of laughing men.</p><p>Frodo wasn’t sure which death he wanted, or which death he ought to be given at the end of this journey. It was quite possible that he deserved the first after all he was dragging his friends and unknown kingdoms into. They were meeting their end because of him, and he was to blame. Yet, he couldn’t help the spark of hope that flared within him, reminding him that this was a deed no one else could achieve, and he would be rewarded for saving Middle Earth when the time came.</p><p>What if he never died at all, during this whole process? It was hard to imagine not being slain by orcs, and equally as hard to see himself as a hero. That most certainly was not him, and yet people were beginning to treat him that way. They were pledging themselves, their families, and their kingdoms to Frodo, always ‘at his service.’ He didn’t want their service, nor the life they were risking for some fickle mission that was bound to go wrong in the end. </p><p>What would he do if the ring found its way back to its master with Frodo still attached? The horror that would spread over the land would dismember any small companionships he may have unwilling formed. No doubt the whole of Middle Earth would turn on him.<br/>
No, he decided, better to die a hero than the target of the worlds most bitter curses.<br/>
Better yet to live with the nightmares and feel the breezes on his cheeks when he was able, to see Sam and Merry and Pippin as he dropped the ring into the fire at Mount Doom, cheering him on if they were able. They would be overjoyed if he made it out alive. That was his goal, or so he told them. Reality seemed worse, death closer to his tiny head than ever before. How he detested Bilbo in this moment, detested himself for ever accepting the ring and Gandalf’s terms. To live or to die. The ring would decide.</p><p>The ring fell against his chest, heavy and flickering like fire in the moonlight. He wanted to yank it from its chain then and toss it over the mountain pass they were camped on, but that would most certainly be the end of Middle Earth. A goblin would catch it and would cart it off back to Mordor, and there would be the turning point of life as he knew it.</p><p>“Damn this ring!” He sobbed into the back of his hand, which was pressed against his lips to keep the gasps and strangled cries from escaping. He was shivering, though he didn’t know if it was because he had moved away from the Fellowship’s fire and into the darkness of the mountains or because he was crying for the first time in many years. </p><p>“Why the tears, Frodo?” Came Aragorn’s voice as the ranger settled down beside him, his features contorted with worry. Frodo hadn’t heard him approach, and he jumped when the mans thigh contacted his.</p><p>“I am afraid!” The hobbit managed to spit out, his tone childlike. He so desperately wanted, needed, this to all be over. “I carry the biggest burden in all of Middle Earth, and I do it as I put lives at stake. My own life is up for bargain,  no doubt I have many a pretty price on my head. I feel so awful and so very alone. There aren’t any words I could use to describe the fight going on inside my head at this very moment.”</p><p>“Then do not try to describe it, my little friend.” Legolas, who had seated himself on Frodo’s other side, brought his knuckle up to swipe the tears gently away, using his other hand to cup Frodo’s face and turn the hobbit towards him. “You will never truly be alone on this trek, Frodo. While neither of us can feel what you are feeling or do what you have been chosen to accomplish, we will be by your side the whole way.” The elf prince, so regal and otherworldly sitting in the light of the full moon, made Frodo shiver. He knew Legolas was being sincere, he could tell from his eyes, and even though he knew it was beyond foolish, the thought of Aragorn and Legolas at his side throughout this mission gave him an odd feeling of comfort.</p><p>“Come sleep with us by the fire and let us dry your tears. You are cold to the touch.” Indeed Frodo’s hands were like ice. He thought about turning down Aragorn’s offer, but the man was already dragging him away from the edge and towards the many bed rolls that he shared with Legolas. </p><p>His body craved the touch, the attention and the love he was so suddenly receiving, so when he sunk down into the blankets with his head on Aragorn’s chest and Legolas’ arms and body curled around him, he gave up on dying. They’d promised to protect him, and he them, and together they’d prevail. </p><p>“Sleep soundly, love.” Legolas murmured as he pressed a whisper of a kiss to Frodo’s temple. </p><p>The ring became an afterthought as Frodo began to drift off, smiling warmly for the first time since his journey had begun. No orcs or dark lords here, only a ranger and elven prince to keep the shadows at bay. Which, if he was being perfectly honest with himself, was more than enough.</p>
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